Hezbollah Congratulates Iraqi People and Religious Leadership on Departure of U.S. Forces from Iraq

Shiite News: Hezbollah in Lebanon has officially responded to the departure of U.S. forces from Iraq, congratulating the Iraqi government, people and religious leadership on what it described as a major and historic achievement. In its statement, Hezbollah said that U.S. troops had been forced to leave Iraq following what it characterized as a defeat, arguing that American objectives had failed in the face of the Iraqi people’s independent will and resistance.

According to the Hezbollah statement, two decades have passed since what it described as the U.S.-imposed war and occupation of Iraq. The group said the conflict resulted in serious consequences, including terrorism, oppression, internal divisions and the exploitation of the country’s resources, while Iraq faced widespread destruction. Hezbollah said, however, that the perseverance and determination of the Iraqi people, along with the sacrifices of thousands of those it described as martyrs and wounded, ultimately compelled the United States to acknowledge defeat and withdraw.

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The statement further said that the development demonstrates, in Hezbollah’s view, that the will of independent nations cannot be broken despite the power, arrogance and coercion of occupying forces. Hezbollah paid tribute to resistance fighters, those it described as martyrs, and all supporters of independence, saying that popular awareness and the determination for freedom eventually lead to the decline and end of occupying forces. It also said these sacrifices helped pave the way for the end of the U.S. military presence in West Asia.